Ep. 151 - How To Become A 6X STATE CHAMP & NATIONAL CONTENDER From A Town of 7,000 People: The Story of Illinois' Sunny Weber

The Sunday Shakeout

Today on the podcast is Sunny Weber!

Sunny is a rising senior at Sandwich High School in Illinois and one of the top high school distance runners in the country right now. She’s already a six-time state champion, with PRs of 4:41 in the 1600, 9:59 in the 3200, and 16:11 for 3-mile. Just this past track season, she finished 4th in the 2-mile at New Balance Nationals and placed 5th at Arcadia in a race absolutely loaded with talent. Oh, and she was the top junior in that field.

In this episode, Sunny and I dive into a bit of everything. We talk about how she got into the sport, what it was like winning her very first high school race as a freshman, and how she’s handled the jump from winning small-town meets to competing at national invitationals with the best in the country. It’s a big leap—not just in pace, but in mindset—and Sunny shares how she approaches that shift and keeps her edge all year long.

We also get into what it’s like coming from a smaller school where this kind of success isn’t super common. How does that shape your motivation? How do you train when you’re not chasing teammates but chasing ghosts? And what does it take mentally to step on the line and believe you belong at the front, even if no one expects you to be there?

We talk training, racing, mindset, setbacks, solo workouts in the winter, and everything in between.

I think you’re really going to enjoy this one.

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